My Life is My Shadow
by La Neenja
Summary: Naruto aspires to become a great detective - just like his father. He has no trace of a family, however, and memory-like dreams of having one keep plaguing him. Could these dreams be letting him in on a secret that threatens to uproot his life? AU.
1. Chapter 1: Closed Eyes

Author's note (Important!): This story may or may not contain any "main" pairings (however, side pairings will be included.) This is pretty much gen and AU. Any main pairings that actually form WILL include Naruto. This is my first time writing Naruto fanfiction (not fanfiction in general.) Please feel free to point out any OOCness/mistakes and/or give constructive criticism.

Either way, I hope you guys enjoy. ^.^

Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Naruto.

* * *

_A tune sounded from the tall, blond man's lips. The gentle humming mixed with the rushing water coming from the faucet. His foot began tapping to an imagined beat, his soap covered hands falling into sync as they cleaned the dishes. He slowly closed his eyes, peaceful images flitting in the darkness behind his eyelids._

_He was then jerked out of his calm state when a small hand tugged on his pants leg, the short fingers curling rather tightly in the fabric. He glanced down, a warm smile crossing his lips at the sight of a wild mop of hair as equally blond as his own, strands falling into blue eyes that were almost identical to his as well. "Hey, Naruto," Minato greeted his son with a toothy grin._

"_Dad," the young boy returned the exact grin his father gave him. "I know what I wanna be when I grow up!" _

"_Oh, yeah?" He chuckled, returning to washing the last of the dishes. His interest was peaked, and his ears stayed open for his son's response. _

"_I want to be just like you!" _

_Minato's smile faltered in favor of shock, the words ringing a bell of remembrance deep within his mind. Pushing back the memories, he toweled his hands. He blinked once, twice, before reaching to turn off the faucet. "No," he turned to Naruto again, a cheerful and slightly playful tone coloring his voice. "You have to be better than me!"_

_It was Naruto's turn to succumb to shock; he instantly released his father's pants leg and promptly jumped backwards. He began frantically waving his arms about, as if attempting to ward off the words the man had just spoken. "No no no," he sputtered, pointing indignantly to the tall man. "You're the best! No way! No one can beat you!"_

_Minato gave another chuckle at the four year old boy's motor-mouth. He crouched down close to his height. "You can," he ruffled his son's hair, haphazardly tossing the blond strands out of place more so than they already were. "Because you're my son!" Pride sparkled within the depths of Minato's blue eyes. The young boy fell silent. A large grin that forced his eyes closed and revealed most of the structure of his cheek bones suddenly appeared._

_"Yeah, yeah! Neh, and then I'll catch even more bad guys than you! And then I'll make the world a good place! I'll be the greatest detective! I'll be famous! Everybody will know who Uzumaki Naruto is!"_

_

* * *

_

Naruto woke with a start, quickly sitting up so that he was perpendicular to the mattress. The covers slowly pool around his waist as he took in deep inhalations of air. Eyes scan his dark bedroom, take note of the early sunlight that filters through the window, and then flicker to the digital clock that sits on his nightstand. It read 5:55AM; red numbers telling him that yes, he did in fact wake up five minutes early.

With a dejected sigh, he flopped back down on the bed. He crossed his arms behind his head, still sleep hazed eyes fluttering shut.

These dreams... they've been bothering him incessantly lately. The dreams were always centered on family-oriented things; a family that he never had. All so vivid, he can feel the emotions that a younger Naruto felt in these dreams; the feeling of being truly loved, the one that stuck with him the most. All so peaceful, no underlying uncertainty dragging the picture into the depths of sorrow and misfortune.

They felt just like memories - ones that seemed to happen only yesterday. But memories would be implying that there was once a family - a father, a mother - and for Naruto there was never a family. He'd been alone from the start.

Perhaps that's why every time he woke up from these dreams, there would always be a sort of hollow feeling in his chest. A dull ache around his heart that threatened to drag him back into the hole of depression he'd fought hard all these years to get out off.

He winced at the thought, and the way his alarm clock suddenly blared its annoying tune, disrupting the peaceful silence of his apartment. "Hey, hey, shut up," he murmured sleepily, halfway rolling over and slapping the off button on the clock.

Rising up and leaving the warm comfort that was his bed, the blond groaned at the realization that he indeed had to go to school today. He yawned and stretched lethargically, doing his best to ignore the cold from the hardwood floor that shocked the skin of his feet as he trudged in the general direction of the bathroom.

* * *

Water sprayed everywhere as Naruto violently shook his hair dry. What would have possibly been a sunny morning quickly turned into a rainy one on his way to school. Darting from cover to cover proved to be futile in the monsoon like weather, and by the time he had reached school grounds, he and his uniform jacket were pretty much soaked. It had definitely been the wrong morning to walk to school.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san," the teacher spoke as Naruto crossed the classroom threshold, just as the late bell rung. "You're good at avoiding detention."

Naruto scrunched up his nose. "Good morning to you too, Iruka-sensei," he snorted. Blue eyes then widened at the test paper and answer sheet that was abruptly handed to him. "What-?"

"Be good and quiet while taking this test, hm?" Iruka-sensei smiled at him, effectively cutting him off. Naruto settled for an annoyed look and a noncommittal noise, instead of a full-fledged protest. He mumbled something about unfair test dates, rude awakenings, and sunny-to-rainy days on his move to his assigned seat.

"Hey, Naruto," the blonde and skinny girl that sat in front of him turned around just as he became situated at his desk. "You kind of look like a wet dog today. Caught in the rain?" She whispered, giggling.

"You resemble a pig yourself, Ino," a candy pink-haired girl quipped from Naruto's left. She turned to him. "You look fine, Naruto," she then smiled.

He offered one of his own to her. For some reason he always had a sense of faith and trust in Sakura-chan, even in the face of the possibility she would never return the romantic feelings that he had for her. He'd learned to push those to the back of his mind, and she in turn pushed that fact to the back of hers - the honesty was what kept their friendship strong for years. If he looked non-presentable, she'd be the one to tell him. Even if it did earn Naruto a lecture on how he should learn to take care of himself, maybe a whack on the back of the head... or two.

Reeling his mind from its endless sea of thoughts and wonders, he attempted to focus on the test in front of him.

* * *

After the grueling test, Naruto found that the school day passed by quickly. There were only slight snags - some of his friends cornered him, questioning his unusually quiet behavior. Sakura was the most persistent out of everyone, catching him in between classes and demanding to know what was wrong. At each confrontation he acted unnaturally evasive, shrugging it off as nothing but a "bad" day. Which, technically speaking, it was.

He sighed away his troubles and worries for the moment. Each step that his feet carried him away from the school seemed to lessen the load on his shoulders. Sure, he enjoyed the people (and the things he learned, to some degree), but he figured it was pretty natural to dislike the tests, quizzes, homework, and the way people seemed to bother him when he wasn't performing some hilarious prank. It was nice to know that they cared; however, also a bit lonely that they didn't know exactly the burden he wore every single day... The darkness that-

Naruto shook his head, ignoring the blond strands that fell into his eyes. Now, with these thoughts, he was only depressing himself. Determining that this was a bad thing, he mustered up a genuine smile and slipped into the doors of the place that he volunteered at.

The police station wasn't overly busy, but most people were working vigorously at their desks. A couple people, who were probably getting food or running errands, greeted him at the door. He smiled at them, nodded, then headed for the elevator.

When it stopped on the third floor - the Homicide Department - he stepped out, striding directly for the boss's office. He dully noted that the Uchiha wasn't at his desk.

He rejoiced in his observation, slipping into the captain's secluded office. "Hey, Obaa-chan," he casually greeted the middle-aged lady.

Tsunade menacingly looked up from the report she had been scanning. "You will never know how much you calling me that grates on my nerves, kid."

"Yeah, well, you should be used to it by now," Naruto gave her a cheesy grin that showed most of his teeth. "Last Thursday," he enthusiastically reminded her, deciding to get straight to the point.

She hummed, turning her chair to sort through a rather messy file cabinet. "Always excited about getting a new case," she drawled, a hint of amusement detectable in her voice. She pulled out a manila folder, nudging the cabinet shut with her foot.

"This one is especially new, fresh, only 3 days old. This girl," she placed the folder on her desk, opening it and pointing to the picture of a young - no more than twenty-one years old - brunette, "was found dead in her home. Whoever killed her attempted to strangle her to death and dismember her body." She then pointed to grueling photos of a large, purple ring-like bruise around her neck and the various areas where cuts in her flesh were deep enough to reveal bone. "Forensics have determined that the ultimate result of her death were the attempts to cut off her limbs. The big mark on her neck was most likely from the murderer attempting to subdue her before he actually killed her."

Naruto grimaced as he observed the pictures, "Serial?"

Tsunade shook her head. "It doesn't quite match up with any other recent killings that we've had," she replied. "But the possibly cannot be completely ruled out."

"Any leads?"

Another shake of her head. "Nothing significant. She lived with her boyfriend, and we consider him a liable suspect. But," she flipped to one more picture. "A star of David was carved into her back by the murderer. We're guessing that he's Jewish, and wanted every one to know it."

"Okay," he resolutely took the folder into his grasp, moving towards the door. "Consider this one solved!"

As the door shut, Tsunade returned to reading her report, a smile evident upon her face.

* * *

A loud and obnoxious yawn escaped Naruto as he sat back in his chair and stretched. Glancing over at his messy desk, he reluctantly decided that it was best to retire for the night - especially with the threat that Tsunade made about him working so much overtime. _"You're just a volunteer,"_ her voice rang in his head. _"Don't work yourself to death."_

The young blond man grinned to himself at the memory, hurriedly packing his stuff into his bag. He used the last of his energy to run the few blocks to his apartment, making instant ramen for dinner, and watching television albeit halfheartedly.

He found himself constantly nodding off from his sitting position on the couch. After about the fifth time that he closed his eyes, he turned off the television and stood. A single thought about finishing homework passed through his mind, but he quickly disregarded it. He sleepily dragged into his bedroom, plopped down face first on his pillow. Slowly closing his eyes, he determined that he was confident enough to bare whatever torture that sleep may throw at him.

* * *

**Feedback? ;D**


	2. Chapter 2: On and Off Field

Naruto felt the slick sweat sticking to his skin. The liquid formed predominately at the nape of his neck and his temple, beads steadily streaming down and wetting his chest and back. In the hot sun, it did little to cool down his body, his legs pumping and feet pounding the ground until they felt like they were on fire.

With each heave of his chest, he took in sharp and quick bouts of oxygen, the air stinging his lungs as he blazed down the track. His hair whipped about, some of the blond strands choosing to either stick to his sweaty forehead or to stubbornly poke him in the eye.

Blue eyes squinted as Naruto forced his limbs to work harder, to catch up to the one backside that was just in front of him. He wanted to be the first one to cross that white, horizontal stripe on the track. "Damn it," he swore, breathless as he managed to cross the finish line. He sent a contempt glare at the slightly older boy who finished before him, in first. As the nonchalant Uchiha caught his glare, Naruto scrunched his nose up into a scowl.

Standing on the sidelines a few yards away, the coach blew his whistle. "Sasuke," he called. "Good. Five-thirty-one. You can go to the locker room."

"What?" Naruto roared, energy soaring through him as he crossed the distance between the finish line and the track coach. "Kaka-sensei! Are you trying to say that he," Naruto pointed to the stoic dark-haired boy who was now casually walking towards the school building. "Finished after five minutes and thirty-one seconds?"

The grey-haired coach looked up from his stopwatch and clipboard and heaved an impassive sigh, "Naruto; five-forty," he simply said. "You can go to the locker room as well." He began reading off the times of the rest of the team that was starting to finish up practice.

The blond opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when he finally noticed the crowd of girls that had gathered at the sideline. They were all wild and cheering for the boy who had finished the final practice mile run in first.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" They swooned.

Some cried, "Sasuke-kun is the best!"

"He's so hot," others shouted, clasping their hands together. "He has the best body!"

Naruto carefully scanned the crowd, gritting his teeth. He spotted Sakura, Ino, and even Hinata. He rolled his eyes, and turned to head towards the main building.

"Son of a bitch, ain't he?" A gruff voice came from his side, and Naruto instantly recognized it as Kiba's. "He's good and barely does anything to get all the chicks."

Naruto paused, looked at Kiba, then back towards the high school. Memories from freshman year and middle school surfaced from the deep depths of the blond's mind. "Yeah," he agreed.

* * *

Naruto held a few pencils in his mouth as he rummaged through his locker. He fumbled around, shoving worn and crunched up papers out of his way as he searched for his English textbook.

"Best practice yet," he heard a feminine voice from far down the empty hallway, and realizing it sounded distinctly like Sakura's, he scoffed. "Sasuke-kun is amazing."

"Unbelievably talented and hot," Ino's voice agreed. She made what Naruto called a 'girly dreamy noise.'

There was an abrupt pause in their footsteps and conversation. Naruto paused, wondering if they had already noticed him.

"Hinata?" Sakura sounded again, concern evident in her speaking of the three syllables the girl who had yet to say anything's name.

Silence fell upon the hallway once more. Naruto resumed his haphazardly rummaging of his locker. "Naru... Naruto-kun," his hand stilled for a brief moment when he heard Hinata speak up. "I think he did... w-well also."

Naruto smiled - at the dark haired girl's words and the fact that he managed to find his English textbook. He wouldn't be too happy if Iruka-Sensei did a bookcheck and he didn't have it with him on that particular day.

"Of course he did," Sakura agreed.

"Yeah. Of course you were focused on how his body looked without the uniform getting in the way, huh?" Ino chimed in.

"I-Ino!"

Since the group of three girls was closer now, his peripheral vision spotted Ino nudging Hinata in the ribs. "It's okay Hinata," the blond haired girl continued her light-hearted teasing. "I was staring just like you were at Naruto when I saw that sweat glistening all over Sasuke-kun's muscles." Hinata gave a small yelp.

"Ino-pig," the pink haired girl hissed. "Don't embarrass her! He's right over there!"

Naruto shot a strained grin at the girls, stuffed his pencil and textbook into his backpack, closed his locker with a little more force than was probably necessary, and proceeded to walk away from them.

* * *

Naruto tapped his foot to an imaginary beat. He had opted to take the subway to the police station, due to track practice lasting until the prime of the city's rush hour and quite frankly, he wasn't up to fighting the sea of people that he knew would be on the sidewalks. The overcast weather also promised scattered showers, and he wasn't up for getting any bit of drenched today.

A bump in the shoulder startled him out of his thoughts for a moment, but before he could mumble an apology, the person was gone. He blinked then returned to his thinking.

As fate would have it, the subway train that he needed to take was somehow being delayed, and he was forced to wait on a platform that he hadn't anticipated would be this crowded. He sighed.

Despite the unexpected crowd, the platform was relatively quiet and therefor he was able to hear a group of five girls giggling loudly to his left. He stole a glance, recognizing them from his school, though he couldn't really pinpoint their names. Their conversation was also loud; they were talking about hot guys.

One of the brunettes caught his glance. "He's pretty cute," she pointed a manicured fingernail to Naruto.

He could feel the other four pairs of eyes focusing on him, scrutinizing. He pretended not to notice. "Oh! Blue eyes and blond hair!" The only redhead of the group gushed.

His confidence rising, he turned to give them a toothy grin.

"He has a nice smile," the second brunette said. "But smile or no smile, Sasuke-kun is the hottest, sexiest, and cutest guy at school!"

The rest of the girls giggled in agreement. Naruto pretended not to hear as he turned away, the announcement of his train arriving suddenly catching his attention. He watched in a daze as it noisily pulled up. The doors slid open and only after most of the people on the platform stepped inside, did he grimace and curl his hands into fists while following suite.

* * *

At the police station, Naruto found his mood picking up when he realized that Sasuke wasn't there again. In that same moment, the blond also realized that he had been brooding - much like said Uchiha did on a daily basis - and inwardly scolded himself as he plopped down at his own desk. He opened the manila folder of the case he had been working on the previous day.

Thirty minutes into idly reviewing what he already knew and the minor information he found out yesterday, he already heard Tsunade calling him into her office.

"Obaa-chan," he groaned, closing her office door when she indicated for him to do so. Out of nowhere, he then perked up, "You have another case-?"

"No," she sternly replied to the unfinished question. She sighed, seeming to already regret dragging Naruto in here. "Sasuke," she began, getting straight to the point. "He's been not himself lately..."

"So?" Naruto grunted. Was today Uchiha day or something; and did he miss the memo?

"Find him," she said. "Talk to him."

Naruto bristled, standing rigid, "No."

"Don't be childish Naruto," Tsunade snapped, sighed, and then rubbed her temples. "You're the closest one to him... I don't think it's a good idea to let him brood like this."

His jaw clenched tight, teeth roughly gritting together. It's true that he was a friend but... "Uchiha will be fine," he found himself grinding out.

Yet, despite his unwillingness to help the dark haired boy, Naruto found himself approaching his backside at a desolate park. "Hey," the blond tested the waters before going in. "Obaa-chan wanted me to talk to you."

No response.

"Hey," Naruto tried again, kicking some dirt and reaching out to still the rocking swing beside Sasuke. "Listen to me when I talk to you, damn it."

He remained silent, black bangs hiding whatever emotion might've been showing on his pale face. Naruto took a seat, and briefly fell into the silence as well.

"I'm talking to you whether you like it or not, Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't even move.

Naruto snorted. "You bastard. You won't make my job easy, huh?"

"Shut up, idiot."

He broke out into a grin before retorting, "Bastard."

* * *

_"You know, Naruto, this used to be one of your mother's favorite spots," Minato looked out towards the sunset before looking down at a daisy that danced in the light breeze. He wrapped an arm around his son's small shoulders._

_The four year old boy looked up at his father, took in the way the golden-orange sunlight played up the unique and rich yellow of his father's hair, "Did mom have hair the same color as ours?" Naruto fingered a few of his own blond strands._

_At this, Minato gave a warm laugh and shook his head. "No. instead it was the same kind of red as that patch of sky over there," he pointed to a fiery, reddish orange looking part of the evening sky._

_"Oh," Naruto stared at the fiery color his father had pointed out. "I like that color. It's pretty."_

_Minato looked at the four year old for a moment, memories of his late wife pregnant with his son filing into his head. "Yeah," the man agreed, a soft smile placed upon his lips. He pulled his son a little closer._

_"How come I didn't get hair like hers?"_

_Minato looked curiously down at Naruto again, a chuckle escaping him once more. "Ah, the wonders of life, my son," he ruffled the boy's hair._

_Naruto grinned devilishly up at his father. Silence fell between them._

_"How was school today?" Minato hummed after a while._

_"I made a new friend today," the young boy piped up almost instantly. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement._

_"What's their name?"_

_"Sasuke Uchiha!" Naruto shot up to his feet from the his sitting position on the green grass. His arms waved about as if he was making some kind of announcement, "Today he was being mean and I told him that he shouldn't do that to his friends! But then he told me that we weren't friends! And he always thinks he's better than me when we do something and everyone wants to be his best friend!" The boy huffed._

_Minato rubbed the back of his own neck, grinning sheepishly, "Looks like you've got yourself a rival."_

Blue eyes shot open, just barely catching a glimpse of the light brown hardwood floor before Naruto found himself crashing down on it. He groaned at the cold wood sticking to his skin and peeled himself off, into a sitting position.

_Stupid dreams_, he cranes his neck to shoot a squinty and sleep based glare at the bed.

He looked over at the framed picture of Sasuke, Sakura, and himself resting innocently on his dresser, _Stupid Sasuke_.

_Stupid... Dad?_

Naruto felt an intense wave of sadness wash over his entire being. Sighing, he attempted to dispel the negative feelings from his conscious. He bathed in the silence of the early morning.

His alarm clock then blared an ear-splitting tune from its speakers, shattering any hopes of returning to bed.

_Fucking clock!_

_

* * *

_

The very minute that school was out, Naruto made his way to the police station – not taking the subway this time. A light drizzle did fall from the sky this time as he walk the few blocks, and in turn he stopped in the middle of a cross walk and outwardly cursed his luck. In a response to his outburst, some high-and-mighty power sent a speeding car towards him and he had to scramble out the way to stay in one piece.

He was just about to take a step out of the elevator and into the Homicide Department, but had to pause mid-step when a slightly taller figure blocked his way. He barely tilted his head, and as a result he fully took in feminine long, dark hair that framed a rather manly, pale, and stoic face. Eyes a very pale violet stared blankly and unblinkingly down at him.

"Neji?" Naruto's own eyes squinted in confusion. He hurriedly moved out of the elevator the moment the dark-haired young man allowed him to do so. "You work here?"

"I volunteer here, just as you do," Neji corrected, holding a hand out to stop the elevator door from closing. "You embarrassed Hinata-sama yesterday," he changed the subject.

The blond blinked, adjusting the strap of his bag, "What?"

"Don't put Hinata-sama in a situation like that again," he went on as if Naruto hadn't even spoken, an icy tone coloring his voice.

"Hey! I wouldn't—I didn't do a damn thing to her!" And again, he was ignored as the elevator closed in his face. He crossed his arms, mumbling about asshole cousins as he headed for his desk. He tiredly sat down in his seat, choosing to pout for a bit before starting to fish his stuff out of his bag. The manila folder, folded up notes, a cheap pen… they landed on his desk indiscriminately. He booted up the computer.

When the piece of old technology finished logging him in, he decided to look up the victim's information and background again. It slowly loaded, and he opted for reviewing the gruesome pictures of the crime scene once more. Finally, a picture of when the young woman was alive popped up. He clicked through the information. His eyes carefully scanned over the words on the screen.

_Full Name: Koch, Aaby, Elvira_

"Hi, nice to meet you. So sorry you were murdered," Naruto muttered under his breath; he did feel a pang of genuine sadness in his chest.

_Sex: Female._

Even he could tell that.

_Eye Color: Brown / Grey._

The brown was obviously there. He shrugged at the 'grey' bit.

_Hair Color: Black._

Yeah well, it sure wasn't grey. He confirmed that.

_Age: 23._

Yep, she was definitely young. Naruto yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He returned to scrolling through the physical information, thoroughly bored. Nothing of interest was coming up.

_Race: White._

Yeah, yeah.

_Ethnicity/Nationality: Jewish/German._

For some reason, he took note of that as he clicked on the 'gathered notes' tab of the woman's profile. He read a portion of the 'family history and background' softly to himself.

"… _Raised in a lower-middle class home with hard working parents. Family history is complicated and drove rifts through the family. Family is almost pure in sense of ethnicity and race. Gathered from relatives, most of the family is either German, Jewish, or a mix of the two. According to the family, this was the more often than not the source of serious problems, accompanied by monetary issues…_"

Naruto paused in his reading, gears slowly working in his head. He clicked back over to the 'basic information' tab, rereading the information and doing his best to pay attention to detail. His eyes instantly zeroed in on the line; _Ethnicity/Nationality: Jewish/German_. The gears seemed to work faster as he rolled the bit of information over in his brain a number of times.

Eyes widened a fraction, his hand reaching for the folder. He hurriedly scanned of the contents, looked through the pictures…

He found it; the Star of David that was brutally carved into the small of Aaby's back.

Naruto's mouth dropped open slightly. He shot up out of his chair, made for the boss's office, and burst through the door. Several steps into the secluded room, he noticed the back of Sasuke standing at Tsunade's desk. Overridden with excitement, he couldn't bring himself to care at that particular second. He was almost startled when Naruto heard himself and the raven-haired boy speak at the same time.

"Obaa-chan!"

"Tsunade-sama."

Naruto and Sasuke caught gazes, effectively glaring at each other. Again, their voices mingled as they spoke at the same time, the same words falling from their mouths in unison.

"I have a lead in that case!"

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Sasuke. You always were a pain in the ass to Naruto. I guess that shouldn't change, eh?**


End file.
